A/N: Alright, so I'm at least satisfied with this chapter, but I feel I could have done better.
Anyway, review time. Imouto's mad house: you were right about her embracing her emotions, but yeah, she's still pretty young and doesn't exactly understand all of them, seeing as she didn't have the emotional control training she'd have gotten from Azarath, and Trigon isn't exactly an emotional role model, either. As for the language thing, that gets further explanation in this chapter.
For everyone else talking about future character appearances: don't worry, Blood, the Titans, and even Raven's family will all show up, though it might be a while as we haven't even gotten near the start of the show, yet.
III
"Speaking of the demo," Mammoth said around his mouthful of food, "how're you gonna work her in?"
"Mam's got a point." Gizmo agreed. "Chick's gonna change the whole team dynamic we got goin'. You better have some kinda plan to incorporate her, or we're all gonna look like a bunch'a snot-brained amateurs out there."
"You guys, relax." Jinx eased. "We're only being tested to see that we can work as a team. We don't necessarily have to bring our a-game just yet. But since you brought it up, I'll go ahead and hash it out now. Raven, you and Giz'll take air support, as well as givin' us shields when we need 'em. Mammoth, you're on front lines; I'll take care of flanks and stragglers. Oh, and Giz, one more thing."
"What?"
"Work on your swearing; that shit you come up with sounds like it was written by a nine-year-old."
"I'm eleven!" He exclaimed, drawing attention to himself; though it didn't last long as no one wanted to be caught staring in their direction and risk the ire of the cloaked member of their team.
"Well fourteen ain't much older, but at least I can cuss like an adult. Hell, Raven's our age and she talks like goddamn Shakespeare. Actually, now that I think about it, how old are you, Rae?"
"Fourteen as well. And, I understand what you were trying to say, but William Shakespeare speaks with a level of vulgarity to rival even the most depraved succubi in Hell." Raven took a bite of her food, and found it to be at least mildly satisfying, though she preferred beef to pork. She ignored the students around her who were simultaneously stealing disturbed glances at her and trying, poorly, to hide that fact.
"You say that like you've met him." Jinx noted.
"He sold his soul for fame." Raven explained, garnering a few surprised faces while she finished her meal.
"Called it." Gizmo smirked.
"Hey, wait a minute. Am I goin' to Hell for signing a contract with you?" Jinx asked, fear and accusation driving her voice up an octave.
"Most likely." Raven answered nonchalantly. "But that won't be much of a problem; I can have you, all three of you, in fact, excused from eternal damnation."
"Just like that, huh?" It sounded too convenient to Jinx.
"Essentially, though you'd still be stuck there forever."
"Better than torture." Mammoth said.
"Alright, enough'a the existential crap!" Gizmo interjected, looking at his watch. "It's about time to get movin', anyhow." Indeed, lunchtime was ending as all but one student started filing out of the cafeteria. A boy stood over the would-be bully from before, his own icy hair contrasting greatly with that of the unconscious student's as he scooped him up in his arms, carrying him out the doors that would take them to the infirmary.
Despite it being routine for every new arrival, the trials were always something the students of HIVE looked forward to. Whether they were there to gauge the competition or just break up the monotony of their day, it was an eagerly anticipated event. Added to the fact that word had spread like wildfire about the cafeteria incident, along with some embellished rumours centered around the mysterious "Princess of Darkness" as they'd taken to calling Raven, and it had nearly everyone present on the edge of their seats for the "show".
"Alright guys," Jinx said, getting into "Leader Mode" as they waited for their cue to begin, "as long as we stick to the plan, we'll come outta this with an easy pass. Remember, we don't need to show off just yet." Raven nodded, Gizmo grunted his acceptance, and Mammoth gave a thumbs up.
"What do you think's taking so long?" Mammoth wondered aloud.
"Probably making last minute changes." Jinx reasoned. "I'm guessing they try to set these things up pretty early, and adding an extra team member at the last minute likely calls for some adjustments." At least, that's what she figured, logically.
It sounded that way to her teammates, too; but it quickly became a moot point when the wall ahead of them split open, allowing the fluorescent lights of the gym to spill into the semi-darkened hallway they stood in, which seemed a tad overdramatic to Raven, given that the situation as she understood it was merely an assessment of their ability to function as a unit.
'Though I suppose accusing others of theatrics makes me something of a hypocrite. Perhaps I should tone it down a bit…'
"Okay, team seven dash thirteen, step forward." One of HIVE's physical trainers was waiting for Jinx's team, clipboard in hand, as they entered the stadium sized gym. "Alright, before you begin, are all of you aware of the risk of personal injury involved in this exercise?" Seeing four nods of affirmation, he continued in his gruff voice. "This will be a timed trial, designed to test your team's combat efficiency, adaptability, and harmony as a squad. Your completion time and success rate for overcoming individual obstacles will determine your overall score and your class placement, understood?"
"Yes." Jinx answered.
The trainer nodded. "Your goal is simple: destroy or otherwise incapacitate all enemy defenses and get to the other end of the building. You begin when the buzzer sounds." He walked off then, going to take his place in the staff seating area. The team approached the starting line, waiting with intense anticipation to equal that of the audience. A pregnant pause, likely for dramatic effect, and they were off.
Mammoth quickly plowed ahead, Jinx just a short distance behind, while Raven followed Gizmo's lead into the air.
Gizmo was able to take care of most of the aerial attacks as the team made steady progress toward the finish line. Raven thought it best to go for the one's he missed, allowing her to keep an eye on her other teammates as well in order to watch their backs when they couldn't.
Jinx seemed to have more close calls than the others, though Mammoth might have simply been too durable to notice. Raven herself had been grazed a few times by enemy fire, and she could feel her temper rising. By the time they had started the last leg of the exercise, she was more than ready to thoroughly atomize the next thing that got in her way.
She got her chance when Jinx and Mammoth were both caught by meta-strength bolas, both struggling to work their way out. The colossal robotic enemy that had thrown the weapon would be on them soon, and Gizmo was busy fighting off drones. That suited Raven just fine, though; she was out for blood now, even if it would be artificial.
Tapping into her inner rage, powerful blasts of hellfire red energy exploded outward from Raven's eyes, easily punching multiple holes through the unfortunate automaton, but she wasn't done yet. She shot forth like a missile, impacting the robotic soldier and separating its top half from its legs. It attempted to push itself up with its arms, but Raven already had a grip on its shoulders. Opening her mouth much wider than a human would ever be capable of, and displaying her pearly daggers with an inhuman growl, she bit down on the robot's "skull" and dislodged it from the rest of its body, putting it out of its pseudo-misery.
Raven then floated over to her downed teammates just as Mammoth succeeded in ripping the binds off his ankles, while Jinx was still working on hers. Raven ended her struggle by dragging a single clawed finger down the cords and severing them.
"We should get moving." She urged them. Mammoth looked at her uneasily while Jinx appeared awestruck. Their leader shook her head to regain her focus, giving a single nod as she and Mammoth sprinted to the finish. Gizmo had gotten rid of his own enemies in the meantime, and he and Raven flew to catch up with the other two.
The four of them reached the end simultaneously, where Jinx slammed her palm down on the red button waiting on a pedestal to officially declare the test completed.
Their completion time, displayed on two oversized screens on either side of the arena, showed that it had taken them exactly thirteen minutes to get to where they now stood.
"So, is that good or bad?" Mammoth wondered, none of them having any sort of reference for what would be considered a "good" time. Then a list of ten teams and their respective times appeared on screen, indicating the best scoring squads in the school. Their team slid into fourth place, beating out the previous holders by less than ten seconds.
The crowd erupted in cheers. They all stood proudly, Mammoth had a hand on either girl's shoulder, while Gizmo sat on Mammoth's own. Basking in the fleeting moment of adoration, it was ruined prematurely by Raven.
"Who's that at the top?" Her question, while seemingly harmless by itself, soured the moods of her teammates when they recognized who had beat them for first place.
"It's that milk carton douche from lunch!" Jinx seethed. "And they did it in just four minutes? Who the hell are these guys?"
"It's gotta be his brother." Gizmo said, indicating the other boy in the picture. "Probably twins, how similar they look."
"Gods, there's another one." Jinx lamented.
"Well, if he's anything remotely similar to his sibling, I can educate him just as easily on the subject of fear." Raven offered.
"What's the matter? Didn't get your kicks tearin' that bot a new one?" Gizmo teased her.
"Destroying that machine was sufficient enough in soothing my admittedly short temper." Raven insisted. "But instilling fear in your enemies before they act has worked quite well in my experience."
"No." Jinx shook her head. "We're not gonna be the instigators here and let them play victim. If they try some shit again, then by all means, scar 'em for life, but until then, I'm fine pretending they don't exist."
"If you say so." Raven didn't sound happy about it, but going against what Jinx said on the matter would only upset her, and the thought of Jinx being upset didn't sit well with her. 'But why does her emotional state matter to me? It's not as if she'd be able to physically harm me if I do something displeasing…'
"Way to go, you guys!" The voice of their temporary guide halted her internal monologue. "That was pretty impressive out there, if I do say so myself." Most of the students had filed out, returning to their regularly scheduled classes.
"Thanks." Jinx said, putting on a smile to hide her previous irritation. "So, what do we have left today?"
"Let's see… ah; all we have left to do today is meeting with your instructors, now that they've figured out where to place you, and getting your pictures taken, but first, I'll show you where the locker rooms are so you all can freshen up a bit."
"Okay, first up is Applied Chemistry with Mr. Cell; where you'll learn to utilize everything from household cleaning supplies to super-acids in a diverse range of tasks that will help you on future assignments." Melanie hit an illuminated button on the wall, and a heavy looking door much different from the others in this stretch of the halls opened, eschewing the standard whooshing sound in favour of a motor and the gears it powered.
"Ah, Miss Fields, you're just in time." The chemistry teacher was a man in his late twenties, wearing the lab coat and goggles usually assumed of someone in his position. The goggles currently rested on his forehead, and the sleeves of his coat were rolled up past the elbow, showing well-muscled, dark skinned arms covered in a motley assortment of scars and burn marks. "I was just about to begin the lesson on soap bombs."
"You're teaching them how to make bathtub accessories?" Jinx questioned.
"You're thinking of bath bombs." He corrected. "What I'm referring to are actual explosives made from soap. You make 'em correctly, and they'll pass right through airport security."
"Cool." Gizmo grinned.
"Sorry, Steven, I'd love to stay and watch you dismember yourself, but I'm afraid I can only stay long enough to introduce your newest students. This is Jinx, Gizmo, Mammoth, and Raven." Melanie waved a hand to the four of them in turn, each offering a nod or a wave to their soon-to-be teacher.
"Well then, I look forward to seeing all of you in my class." He smiled widely, accentuating the lines around his eyes.
"Alright, next class is… Weapons Handling. That should be pretty self-explanatory." Gizmo was the most excited of the group at hearing this, grinning and rubbing his palms together.
"This place is gonna be fun."
"Try not to have too much fun." Jinx warned him. "You remember the incident last spring? When you thought it would be a good idea to rig a hyper-thermic magnetron up to a prototype railgun, and then juice the thing up with the technological equivalent of steroids?"
"That was a simple calculation error." Gizmo defended. "It would'a worked if you'd'a let me correct it."
"'Simple calculation error' my ass. You blew up half the building!"
"Not like anyone died." Gizmo muttered, giving up the argument before it could escalate further.
"Mmhm, well, filing that away for later, we're here." Melanie announced. This time, the door looked much lighter-duty, but with thick padding on the frame. A sign was posted nearby, telling anyone who entered to grab a pair of earplugs before proceeding. Melanie handed a set to each of her four charges before letting them go in.
Gizmo was like a kid in a candy store when they entered the "classroom" (see, gun range). Jinx was pretty taken aback herself at all the high-tech weapons and other gadgets apparently at their disposal, and all the stations designated to different weapons-related activities made it feel like some kind of wartime arts and crafts center.
They found the instructor helping a student at one of the stations, explaining the mechanisms of the handgun between them.
"Mr. Flag." Melanie shouted to be heard over the hail of gunfire being produced several dozen yards away. "Could I borrow you for a moment?"
"Sure thing." He nodded to the student he'd been talking to, receiving a salute in return as the student stepped away. "What can I do for you?"
"I'm here with the newest students." She once again introduced Jinx and her team.
The teacher eyed each of them, gauging for something. "Have any of you ever operated a firearm before?" Only Gizmo raised his hand. "Are you the team's weapons expert, then?"
"I'm an expert with any tech." Gizmo assured him with a smirk.
"Good, every team needs one, and I'll expect you to help keep their weapons skills sharp; they start falling behind, I'm holding you responsible."
"What?! Why me?"
"Shared knowledge is useful knowledge, and useful knowledge keeps you alive. Think of it like a pot on the stove; if the heat don't spread evenly, it ruins the food. The same applies to your team." Gizmo crossed his arms and glared, but didn't attempt to refute him.
"Glad you see it my way." He ignored Gizmo's irate expression. "If that'll be all, Ms. Fields, I need to get back to assisting that young man over there." He tilted his head vaguely in the direction of the student from before, who was currently trying to look like he hadn't been staring at them.
"We'll get out of your hair, then." Melanie said, leading her group on to their next introduction.
"Okay, we've seen chemistry, weapons, engineering, finance, and survival skills, and combat practice is a weekly affair held in the gym, so we don't need to go back there. Next we have… oh, never mind, that's all of them; on to the studio, then." Making a few checks on her clipboard, Melanie seemingly deliberated before picking a direction to walk.
"Studio?" Jinx inquired. "You guys have an entire studio just for student pictures?"
Melanie shook her head. "Not just ID photos; we also need to be able to make dark web advertisements, highlights, footage of students to show clients, and then that requires editing as well; there's a lot that goes into this stuff."
"Yeah, I guess that makes sense." Jinx agreed. "Ya know it's a lot more impressive here than I thought it would be, but that might just be 'cuz Junior HIVE was nowhere near the level of this place."
"You're not the first one to say so." Melanie noted. "I've been telling the execs for a while now to give the Juniors more funding, but well, I'm basically a glorified secretary here, and my opinion holds about as much sway as that implies."
Jinx scoffed. "Typical. I'm surprised they didn't fire you just for having an opinion."
"Oh, they would never do that." Melanie gave a short chuckle. "This place would burn to the ground in a week without me, and they know it; not many people are qualified for a position like this involving this many metahuman teenagers, and even fewer are actually willing."
"Guess that's good job security." Jinx said. "Still sucks that they treat you like a peon when you're the one keeping this place goin', though."
Melanie laughed again. "Trust me, it could be a whole lot worse; as it is, they'll give me pretty much whatever I ask for under the pretense of job necessity." She pulled a keycard out of her pocket, unlocking the door they'd stopped at.
The photography studio was pretty much exactly as Jinx expected; half the room was dedicated to a photoshoot area, green screen, slightly uncomfortable looking stool, and expensive camera included. Dominating the other side of the space were three rows of computers, most likely for editorial purposes. Aside from the two work spaces, there wasn't much else of note.
"Okay, who wants to go first?" Melanie asked, making adjustments to the camera.
"I'll do it." Jinx volunteered, taking a seat on the stool. She went through a series of different poses and faces, which Raven found amusing, and it showed. Jinx, in turn, was both amused and just a bit prideful at being the reason for Raven's smile.
"I think just a smile will do, Jinx." Melanie told her, a small smile of her own present. Jinx complied, grinning and showing off her fangs. While she didn't have anything like Raven, where every one of her sixty-four teeth were lethal weapons, all of her canines were definitively longer and pointier than that of a normal human.
"Wanna go next, Rae?" Jinx asked, moving from her seat after the camera flashed.
"Okay." Raven hopped onto the stool, scowling with just a hint of disdain as her boots didn't quite reach the floor. Jinx and the boys were stifling laughter in the background.
"You'll wanna take your hood off for this." Melanie suggested. "I need to get a good picture of you, so I'm going to need to see your face."
"Very well." Raven did as she was asked, exposing her face and long white hair for the camera. Melanie had no discernible reaction to her appearance, once again piquing Raven's interest.
Mammoth went after Raven, first giving the seat a stress test by pressing down on it to make sure it would hold him. Gizmo went last, refusing to smile on the grounds that it wasn't how he looked a majority of the time.
After taking the last photo, Melanie popped the memory card out of the camera and inserted it into one of the computers. Five minutes and many audible keyboard clicks later, four HIVE student ID's were printed off, and Melanie passed them out.
"Welcome to HIVE. Officially." Melanie said. "This is the end of your group tour; I just need to show Raven to her English tutor. You guys can come with us if you want, but as of right now, the school day's over, and you have until ten o'clock to do as you see fit. Within reason, of course." She amended quickly, thinking back to Gizmo's apparent propensity for experimental weaponry.
"You wanna go mess with the weightlifters?" Gizmo asked Mammoth on their way out of the studio.
"Hah, definitely."
"I can tell those two are really going to make me earn my paycheck." Melanie sighed. "Well, we should get there before he leaves. Ready, Raven?"
"I'm gonna go with you guys." Jinx said. "Let the boys be someone else's problem for once."
"Something wrong?" Melanie asked the girls, who were hesitating to enter the classroom they had come to.
"Something doesn't feel right." Raven said ominously, Jinx nodding along.
"Yeah, I feel it, too." She narrowed her eyes. "Who is this guy, exactly?"
"You can call me Mr. Jacobs." The man had evidently been closer to the open doorway than they had thought. "Are you two my new students?" Mr. Jacobs was a fairly tall, extremely pale man, being close to Mammoth's height. He looked deceptively athletic under his baggy clothes, as well.
"Just Raven." Jinx pointed to her friend. "I did my time in English already, and I'd rather not have to go through it again."
"Yes…" He said, thinly veiling his meager annoyance. "Well, it is a pleasure to meet you, Raven. I hear you've a somewhat unorthodox language experience?"
Raven nodded. "My father dictated my education as a child. Verbal English was a necessity to communicate with his… associates, but he believes the written form to be an impure, fallacious mess of a lexicon with no business being anywhere near magic."
"Got that right." Jinx agreed.
"Well, personal opinions of the language aside, I look forward to having you in class either way." He held out his hand for Raven to shake, and she stopped just short of taking it.
"What is that you have there on your wrist?" She asked him.
"Oh, this?" He rolled his sleeve back, showing a silver chain with a small wooden cross wrapped around his wrist. The cross itself had a small amount of metal embedded within the wood. "It's a holy artifact. The wood came from the actual cross used to crucify Christ, and the metal inside, as well as the chain, is one hundred percent pure silver. It wards off possession and dark magic."
"As I am well aware." Raven deadpanned. "I also noticed the sword. Is that the original?"
"Joyeuse." He confirmed. "It's no Excalibur, but it certainly does the job. Are these going to be a problem for you?"
"So long as you don't touch me, everything will be fine." Raven insisted. "Is teaching a demon going to be a problem for you?"
"Not at all." He stated calmly, trying to convey he meant no harm. "Those are merely a precaution against the more hostile type."
"Alright." Raven accepted. "If you don't try to kill me, I suppose I can extend the same kindness."
"I think we're going to get along just fine." He laughed.
"Whaddya think, Raven; you think pink and purple would look good in here?" Jinx was holding her arms out straight up, making a frame with her hands, one eye closed as she lay on her bed.
"The aesthetics sound pleasing enough." Raven offered. "Though if you do choose that particular color scheme, I'd hope you keep pink to a minimum of highlights or accents, seeing as I live here, too."
"Fair point." Jinx said. "It's gonna have to wait until I can actually get some paint, anyway."
"And the school is alright with you redecorating at your leisure?" Raven questioned dubiously.
"Don't know." Jinx admitted shamelessly. "Guess we'll find out for sure if they ever see it." Raven didn't laugh, rather exhaled through her nose once in response.
"You should get to sleep."
"Yeah, alright, g'night, mom." Jinx said playfully, though she did listen as she closed her eyes and turned on her side.
"Good night, Jinx."
A/N: Yeah, as I said, I think it could be improved, but that might just be my writer's perfectionism talking. So, how am I doing with Mammoth and Gizmo? I'm trying to make sure they get a decent amount of the spotlight without focusing too much on them. (This is a RaeJinx story).